The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers - Eca de Queiras

The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers by Jose Maria Eça de Queiras, translated by Margaret Jull Costa / ISBN 9781873982648 / 346-page paperback from Dedalus Books

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The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers was discovered amongst the author's papers after his death, and was only published in Portugal in 1980. This is the first English translation, and its publication is timed to coincide with the centenary of Eca's death.

One night at the theatre, Vitor da Silva, a young law graduate, sees a strikingly beautiful woman: Genoveva de Molineux. She claims to have been born in Madeira and to have lived for many years in Paris. The truth about her past gradually begins to surface, as does the terrible secret that lies behind the overwhelming mutual attraction between her and Vitor. Eca brilliantly dissects a world in which only surface counts, providing the reader with a vivid and gripping portrayal of a society and class consumed by hypocrisy, greed and materialism.

"One of the greatest novelists of the novel's greatest age, Eca is also amongst the most readable due to his narrative energy, sweeping range and tart sense of humour." --Michael Kerrigan in The Scotsman

"The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers justifies his claim to be numbered among the great European novelists of his day."--Times Literary Supplement